Knud Magnus Wefald (November 3, 1869 – October 25, 1936), was an American

Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party (FLP), officially known as the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota, was a left-wing American political party in Minnesota between 1918 and 1944. The FLP largely dominated Minnesota politics during the Great Depressi ...

politician who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Minnesota's 9th congressional district Minnesota's 9th congressional district is a now-obsolete district for representation in the United States House of Representatives which existed from 1903 to 1963. It generally consisted of the northwest corner of the state (parts of the current ...

from 1923 to 1927.

Background

Knud Magnus Wefald was born in Yttre Vefald, Drangedal, in

Kragerø Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include H ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He attended the local schools and high school of his native land. He immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1887 and in 1896 settled in Hawley,

Clay County, Minnesota Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,318, and was estimated to be 66,848 in 2024, Its county seat is Moorhead. Clay County is part of the Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistic ...

, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits while managing a partly owned lumber business.

Career

As a member of the village council of Hawley he served as council president in 1907-1912, 1917, and 1918. He was a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

from 1913 to 1915. Wefald was elected on the Farmer-Labor ticket to the 68th and 69th Congresses (March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1927) from

. After an unsuccessful campaign for reelection in 1926 he resumed his former business pursuits. Wefald edited a Norwegian-language newspaper in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

from 1929 to 1931 and was executive secretary of the Commission of Administration and Finance of Minnesota in 1931 and 1932. Finally, he served as railroad and warehouse commissioner of Minnesota from January 1933 until his death in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, October 25, 1936. Papers of Knud Wefald are in the collections of the

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

Archives. Included are an account from 1903 concerning a trip to Norway, poems that he wrote in both Norwegian and English, and extracts from the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...

during his tenure in the House of Representatives.''Wefald, Knut'' (From the Archives by Charlotte Jacobson. NAHA. Volume 31: Page 317

References

Other sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wefald, Knud 1869 births 1936 deaths People from Kragerø People from Drangedal Norwegian emigrants to the United States Members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota Farmer–Laborites Farmer–Labor Party members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature